Since the COVID-19 outbreak back in March, many businesses have moved to a work from home operation in order to continue staying in business but keep their employees safe and comfortable. While this has been a great alternative to working in an office and has kept many businesses afloat over the past few difficult months, it also brings a brand new set of challenges with it. There is the issue of making sure everyone has the technology needed in order to get their work done, making sure communication is upheld and making sure employees are getting things done, among other things. Luckily there are ways to lead your teams through this work from home era and help everyone, as well as the business, truly succeed:
Communication Is Key
One of the most difficult aspects of leading a virtual team is communication. Not being physically present with your team can sometimes lead to information not getting across properly, as not having a person in front of them can lead employees to get easily distracted. While it’s great to use text-based chats and phone calls for a lot of basic things, it’s also important to get some sense of face time with your team members. Try video chats on platforms such as Discord or Skype. These allow you to get more personal time with your team and hopefully connect better, regardless of not being physically with them.
Maintain Company Culture
If your company is typically big on culture, it can be very difficult to keep that up when you’re leading a virtual team. Be sure to try and continue any fun team rituals you may have done in the office even when you’re not together. Play a game with everyone at the beginning of team meetings as an ice breaker or encourage social interaction via team video conferences. Be sure to get the team talking about something other than work with one another, as it helps keep up the camaraderie, even if they’re not actually together.
Pay Attention
Most importantly, make sure you’re as present as you can possibly be when conversing with your team. They’re relying on you to be there both professionally and emotionally while working remotely, and if they don’t feel heard then their work may suffer. While you’re likely busier now than you were in the office, it’s especially important that each of your employees feels heard and gets the help they need.
This article was originally published at https://stephenpatterson.net/